Once a royal, always a royal, or should I say, once a royal property, always a royal property! At least that’s the case with a mansion in London’s upscale Mayfair, where the Qatari Prime Minister sold a Grade II-listed building to a fellow Qatari royal in October 2023. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spearheaded one of London’s most expensive home deals in the past year by letting go of the property at Balfour Place for almost $50 million. To be precise, the block is located between Hyde Park and Berkeley Square and has been with the Qatari Prime Minister since 2021, according to a UK filing, as reported by Bloomberg.
Interestingly, this parcel of land has been nicknamed ‘Little Doha,’ hinting at how invested the affluent Middle Easterners are in the upscale neighborhood. The royal did not part with this prime property, among a handful of others, for money alone. The ultra-wealthy have their own reasons, like cutting out agency fees and inheritance tax when the owner dies. Sheikh Mohammed, who is known to continue as the foreign minister in addition to being the Prime Minister of the gas-rich Gulf state, negotiated with the fellow royal directly on the sale.
Other well-known royal family members, like United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also parted with his $82 million Chelsea mansion bought in November. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, aka the man who bought London, also intended to sell the One Hyde Park penthouse in Knightsbridge for $281 million and a property near Belgrave Square for $192 million.
